The federal government has rubbished the opposition's plan to introduce local boards to run hospitals, saying the move will not fix the nation's ailing health system.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Sunday announced a plan that would see local boards introduced at every major public hospital in NSW and Queensland.
The policy did not address hospitals in other states and territories, lacked detail on funding and offered nothing in terms of boosting doctor and nurse numbers.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the coalition's plan, which would involve only 20 or 30 hospitals, would not solve the raft of problems facing Australia's health system.
"Mr Abbott is announcing this as if it is a solution to everything when it patently isn't," she told ABC Radio.
"It doesn't deal with all of the pressing workforce shortages ... it doesn't deal with any extra funding, it's not national."
Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton defended the policy's lack of detail, saying the coalition had plans for the other states and territories but NSW and Queensland needed urgent direct action.
"We'll make announcements in due course. The announcement we made yesterday was to make sure we put doctors and nurses back in charge," he told Sky News on Monday.
Ms Roxon said the government's reform agenda, which may include a federal takeover of state public hospitals, would be released soon.
"On Friday I held my last meeting with the state premiers and chief ministers to discuss our plans," she said.
"We've made very clear that it will be (released) soon."
Ms Roxon refused to apologise for the length of time the reforms have been in the pipeline.
"We need to get it right because it matters to people and we are determined to do this properly," she said.
Queensland Health Minister Paul Lucas told ABC Radio on Monday that hospital boards had not worked in the state in the past and were not the fix for the public health system.
"They are a smokescreen sideshow for somebody who doesn't want to put more money into the health system," he said.
"The greatest challenge facing us in health ... is the fact that we are living longer and having healthier lives and needing more surgery because we are living longer."
Mr Lucas said only more funding would improve the health system.
"Fundamentally it is about more money, and the reason ultimately that we want the federal government to take a greater role is not
because federal governments are particularly better at health systems than anyone else," he said.
"The states simply cannot match (in) the future the level of increase in funding that is required for a society that will have four times the amount of people (aged) over 80 in 2050."
Queensland's opposition health spokesman Mark McArdle told ABC Radio that doctors and the community deserved a greater role in how their hospitals were run.
"Victoria has hospital boards, and they are efficient and effective down there well in excess (of) the system that exists in NSW and Queensland," Mr McArdle said.
"If we forget to listen to doctors and nurses ... we are in trouble."
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